Jeff Snyder
EF5
Last I checked, there were 3 levee breaches. Not sure which of those were "overtopped" or which of those actually failed.
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Do you think the Federal relief effort is being mismanaged?
- Thread starter Tim Vasquez
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Last I checked, there were 3 levee breaches. Not sure which of those were "overtopped" or which of those actually failed.
Bill Tabor
EF5
I should point out that I voted 'yes' in the poll, I don't feel it is only limited to Federal gov. I think the whole thing is botched for various reasons, and I don't necessarily feel that is because of neglect, bad planning, etc. I was kind of down on the Bush admin and everything else because of the slow response I was seeing, but I think probably the truth is everyone is mad because we see so many suffering. There are many reasons for their suffering and a lot of it by so many was by choice for good and bad reasons. There were budget cuts and perhaps bad planning in various admin terms going back a long way and not just based on the last 4 years. This includes whoever thought up the brilliant idea to have a city below sea level.
The magnitude of this event is enormous and almost all infrastructure has been destroyed in much of 3 states including roads, communications, security, etc. Whatever level of planning and money spent may never have been good enough for the disaster we ended up getting. Not sure anyone fully appreciated the entire possibilities as you have to draw the line somewhere.
Bottom line....this was an act of god and Ma Nature - that's why it's called a natural disaster. From time to time they happen and when they do people often die. True, a quicker response can always help. I think it's debateable if it could have been quicker. The magnitude and coverage is so great it's really hard to say because there are so many factors to consider. The reason for this disaster and the response to it will be analyzed and debated for years to come. There will be those that said we did what we could, and there will always be those that said 'this is so and so's fault - they screwed up'. My opinion? I think this is beyone the scope of everyone's capability. As Gilbert Sebenste so elloquently said on wx-chase this is like 911, asian tsunami, La Earthquake, and Andrew all rolled into one combined.
We should all focus on being part of the solution, and not monday morning quarterbacking arguing about the problem.
Ryan McGinnis
EF5
Last I heard from ACOE, the levee breaches were caused by the overtopping. The overtopping spilled over which eroded away the earth and concrete until the levee structurally failed.
B Doss
EF2
Andrew Khan
EF5
I think that, yes it is being mismanaged. It seems like all they do is beat around the bush...M Conder
EF0
RE: Levies
Rob_Davis wrote:
Seems like the Corps of Engineers thought it was their project (last question most relevant to this thread)
URL: http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/083005c...g.45718845.html
Answers from Army Corps of Engineers on unwatering New Orleans
Q.1. How long will it take to get the water out of New Orleans?
A.1. We are unsure. A number of factors play into this. First, Lake Pontchartrain is at roughly 4.5 feet above sea level and falling. The city is at a lower elevation so water will continue to flow into it until it equalizes.
Once the breach on the 7th Street Canal is closed, Pump Station 6 can pump 10,000 cubic feet per second.
Once the breaches are closed and all of the pumps are running, the pumps can lower the water level ½ inch per hour or about a foot per day. We can get the water level to sea level in four and a half days. The ½ inch rate assumes the late is at normal levels. That would create pumping inefficiency, as could trash in drains and canals that feed into the pump stations.
That’s a “Best Case†scenario. We don’t know the conditions of all of the pumps. Fortunately most of the pump motors and controllers are at an elevation greater than 5 feet and we hope they weren’t submerged. There could be other unforeseen problems.
We assume the pumps have not been submerged since most pumps are at an elevation greater than five feet above sea level. Pumps are operated and maintained by the local sewage and drainage districts.
Q.2. Why did the levees fail?
A.2. What failed were actually floodwalls, not levees. This was caused by overtopping which caused scouring, or an eating away of the earthen support, which then basically undermined the wall.
These walls and levees were designed to withstand a fast moving category 3 hurricane. Katrina was a strong 4 at landfall, and conditions exceeded the design.
Q.3. Why only Category 3 protection?
A.3. That is what we were authorized to do.
Kevin Bowman
EF4
according to fox news a 14 billion dollar program that wouldve fixed everything and re-enforeced the levees was killed in 1998 because it cost to much moneyRob_Davis
Re: RE: Levies
The COE was addressing all levees, including those overtopped or eroded. My comment was in reference only to that which physically failed.- Status